Apparatus for extracting grease and potash salts from wool.



. I'. &,G. SHUMAN.

APPARATUS FOB EXTRAGTING GREASE AND POTASH SALTS FROM WOOL. APPLIOATION FILED D1.0.29,19o5./y

899,440. 1 'Patented sept. 22, 1908.

3 SHEETB-SHEETL P. & C. SHUMAN. APPARATUS POREXTRAGTING GREASE AND POTASH SALTS PROM WOOL.

APPLICATION FILED 13130.29, 1905. 899,440.

-Patented Sept. 22, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I".Y & C. SHUMAN. APPARATUS FOR EXTRCTING GREASE AND POTASH SALTS FROM WOOL. AgPLIoATIoN FILED 1920.29, 1905.

899,440, Patented Sept. 22, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK SHUMAN AND OONSTANTINE SHUMAN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-THIRD TO SAID FRANK SHUMAN, ONE-THIRD TO WALTER ERBEN, AND ONE-THIRD ING, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

TO CHARLES H. HARD- APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING GREASE AND P OTASH\SALTS FROM AWOOL.

Application filled December 29, 1905.` Serial No. 293,799.

Specification of Letters Patent.

vPatenten sept. 22, 190s.

To all whom 'Lt may concern: l

Be it known that we, FRANK SHUMAN and CoNsTANTINE-VSHUMAN, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented lcertain Im-` the action of a solvent of the grease, and then' to a washing operation, one object of our invention being to provide for the rapid andefliective removal of the grease and potash salts from the wool, and the effective recovery and reuse of the solvent employed,

anda further object being to accomplish this result by the use of sim ler and cheaper means than xthose now emp oyed for the pur These objects we attain in themanose. ser hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanyingr drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a longitudinal sectional view of one end of wool degreasing apparatus constructed in accordance with our invention; Fig. 2, is a similar view 0f the other end of the apparatus, F ig. 3, is a transverse section of the apparatus, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a modification of one ofthe features of our invention. I 1 and -2 represent a pair of closed tanks located end to end and connected by a'neck 3,

l which provides communication between the tanks, and 4 and 5 represent endless belts of wire cloth, perforated sheet metal, or the like, which pass through these tanks from end to end, and also pass around/suitable external guide rollers 6,.so disposed thatin their forate belts or aprons follow parallel courses, separated from each other to the extent required to accommodate the mass of wool, which is carried forwardfrom the receiving end to the delivery end of the apparatus, the lower apron 5 being, by preference, extended so as to'forma table or latform upon which to deposit the wool whic is to be treated;

the same serve to maintainrelatively tight.

`which the Wool is to be subjected.

(passage through the tanks the per-" joints at the points of entrance and-exit of the aprons, so as to revent the escape of gases or va ors from elther tank.l

The tan lfis divided by means of lpartitions 9'into aseries of compartments 10, 11 12 and 13, `and the tank 2 is .divided by a series of partitions 14into compartments 15,

16 ,and -17, the number of compartments in. either tank being dependent largely upon the extent land character of the treatment Each tank contains a series of perforated vessels or trays 19, one for each compartment,these',trays being located above the lower run of the apron 4, and each tray being in communication with its respective compartment throulgh pipes 20 and 21, and a centrifu al or ot er sultable pump l22, Wherebyliqui may be withdrawn from each com.l partment and delivered into the corres ondi-ngtray 19, through whose perforate vbottom it escapes and flows on to the lower run of the upper perforated apron 4, so as to pass Vthrough the same, through the mass of wool confined between it and the upper run of the lower apron 5, and through the latter, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. y

The two aprons, with their interposed mass of wool are supported in their passage through the tanks upon rollers 23, and they also pass through a number of pairs of squeezing rollers 24,25, 26 and 27. The perforated trays 19, corresponding to the compartments 1'1, 12, 1,5, 16 and 17 are provided with rollers running upon rails `28 n onthe o` posite sides of the tanks, so that they can e moved longitudinally, one of the axles of each tray being connected by rods 29 to a float 30, suitably guided vertically in the the lower run o the upper apron 4, serves to supply naphtha'or other available solvent of grease, and a similar transverse pipe `3210- cated abovethe compartment 17 ,e and 'also movementl and the tray will be- 'compartment corresponding to said tray, so

' because of the fact that the partition 9, separating these compartments, 1s lower than the partitions separating the other compartlments of the apparatus.

The tank 2 has, at the top, a vapor escape pipe 35, and each of the compartments 15, 16 and 17 of said tank is in communie vtion with a steam pi e 36 through a suitably valved branch, ass iown in Fig. 2.

Supposing that a inassof wool is being carried through .the apparatus Vbetweenthe aprons 4 and 5, that the various pumps 22 are in o eration, and that the -proper supplies of nap itha or other solvent and of wash waterare being admitted through the pipes 31 and 32, the operation of the a paratus is as follows. The fresh solvent rom the pipe 31, after passing through the mass of wool which is being carried beneath it, enters the compartment 12 and isconveyed therefrom to the tray `19, above the said compartment, from which it again flows'through the wool into the compartment. As the level of liquid in the compartment rises, however, longitudinal movement is imparted to the tray 19, l so that a portion of the solvent will be directed into the adjoining compartment 11,

this movement of the tray continuing'until the amount of solvent thus deflected equals the amount of solvent entering the compartment 12 from the pipe 31, and overflowing `mto the same from the compartment 13,

whereupon a normallevel will be maintained in said com ar'tment'12. In like manner a normal leve of liquid will be produced and maintained in the compartment 11, the level in the compartment 10 being determined by the location of the overflow ipe 33. In the same manner a normal level) of wash water is produced and maintained in each of the.

- compartments 15, 16 and 17. Thebody of solvent contained in the compartment 12- will, therefore, be the purest or least saturated with grease, that in the compartment 11 will contain a larger percentage of grease, and that in the compartment 10 will contain the maximum percentage, and will be With- -drawn therefrom to the still. The wool in its passage will, therefore, be subjected to the laction of solvent-of greater and greater purlty until it finally reaches the pure solvent 'delivered by the pipe 31, and precisely the same operation in respect to the wash water takes place in the tank 2, the fresh water flowing from the pipe 32 through the wool v and into the. compartment 17, so that the water in said compartment contains the least percentage of potash salts which have been washed from the wool, the water in the compartment 16 containing a greater percentage of such salts, that in the compartment 15 a still higher percentage, and that in the compartment 13 a maximum percentage.

Before passing under the action of t 1e wash water from the tray 19 above the compartment 13 the wool has the greater percent-age of the solvent expressed from it by the action of the squeeze rolls 25, and after being subjected to the washing action of the water from said tray 19, the wool is again subjected to the action of the pair of squeeze rolls 26, whereby the greater percentage of the water and solvent then remaining in the wool is expressed therefrom and flows into the compartment 13, the solvent, owing to its lesser specific gravity, floating upon the water and overflowing into the compartment 12, as shown in Fig. 1.

The water in the compartments 15, 16 and 17, is heated by steam from the pipe 36, or in any other available manner, the iwater in the compartment 17 being, by preference, heated toa higher temperature than that in the compartment 1.6, and the water in the latter compartment being heated to a higher temperature than that in the compartment 15. The water consequently performs the double function of washing from the wool the potash salts'which are not soluble by the solvent employed to extract the `grease, and vaporizing the small percentage of solvent which still remains in the wool after the same has passed the squeeze rolls 26, this vaporized solvent passing off through the pipe 35 to a have described, provides for treating a maxi-` mum quantity in a given time, since the wool can be passed through the apparatus as rapidly as is consistent with the thorough elimination of the grease and potash salts therefrom, the process being a continuous ,one, and no handling of thewool being necessary during the process.

When it is not desired to remove the potash salts in so thorough a manner as by flowing streams of wash water, the wool may be passed through a quiescent body or bodies of Water', as for instance, by properly dcflecting the course of the endless carrier belts, in the compartments 13, 15, 16 and 17 as shown in. Fig. 4, or in any other appropriate way, but in `any case it is preferable to maintain that body of water'which completes the Washing operation at a higher temperature than that which begins said operation, in

order to prevent the yellowing or rotting of I carried forward and the potash salts are washed therefrom the temperature can be raised without risk of injury to the wool, .for instance, the temperature of thefwash water used in Aconnection with compartment 15 may be sufficient to start the vaporization of the solvent contained in the wool, and the temperature of the wash water in the final' compartment 17` may be at or near the boiling point. A

We employ water of high temperature to vaporize the solvent contained in the wool which has been previously subjected to-the action of said solvent for the purpose of removing grease from the wool, and we `find that the solvent can beremoved more thoroughly and with less loss by this means than.

if its vaporization is attempted by means of ht air or gas, or if .it is washed from the wool by the use of cool or moderately warm water.

The solvent vapors driven off from the wool by the action of the heated water are,I

A carrying it thereby through successive tanks of solvent and -successive tanks of wash water, the aprons ywith the wool confined between them being also carried between press solvent, then squeezed to express the-surplusl rolls in passing from one compartment to another, but this (process differs from ours in failing t0` provi e for a positive fiow of the solvent through the -mass of Wool, and it also fails to employ 'heated wash water for the pur ose of vaporizing the solvent remaining 1n t ewool. f

We are also aware that in that class of wool degreasing apparatus in which thel woolis.

treated in cylinders orrkeirs, the wool has been subjected to treatment with owing solvent therefrom, then treated Withfflowi wash water, either cold or moderately heated,- and then agaln squeezed to express the wash/water therefrom,`but in such .apparatusl the solvent is not vaporized by the wash wacomparedwith that ter, and the operations cannot all be carried pn simultaneously, hence the recess is, as which we ave devised, necessarily a slow one.

' The fresh solvent supplied by the pi- `314 may be either cold or -eated asrdesired Athro'u h .the flowing 4. -he combination, in a wool degreasing of wool by directcontact with water of the proper temperature, and especially from that embodiment of our process in which the sol- `vent-vaporizing -water is caused to flow through the wool in streams lso as to have the most effective washing action upon the wool.

We are further aware that flowin streams of solvent have been passed throug masses of wool lying loosely on a erforated confrom the wool by vaporizing it in the mass v veyer, but the treatment of oose massesof wool in this way is both wastefulandineffective, a much more economical and effective use of thel solvent being possible if the wool is subjected to the action of the solvent while in a relatively confined mass.

We claim:

- 1. The combination, in a w l degreasing apparatus, of a pair of traveling aprons be tween which wool is held and continuously fed forward through flowing streams of solvent having a less and less' ercentage of grease, movable distributers or delivering said streams of solvent, means for continuously feeding such successively purer solvent in the opposlte directionfand means for supplying pure solvent to said wool in its travel and after it passes saidfiowing streams.

2. The combination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tank havin a series of solvent com artments, mova le solvent distributers ocated above each compartment and overlapping' the next so as to discharge simultaneously into both compartments, and

`means for conveying the wool through e caused todirect a predetermined portion of its discharge into an adjoining compart-l ment, and r'nea'ns.A for carrying the .wool

streams of solvent.

apparatus, of a tank having a series of sol vent compartments, a series of solvent distributers above the same, means for convey-- -mg the wool through the solvent owmg from the distributers finto said compart ment sv means for mounting the distributers so as to permit of movement of the lsame- 'above thejconpartments, vvand a float' contained in a compartment and connected to a corresponding distributor and serving by its rise and fall to cause to-and-fro movement of said distribl'lter.

5 The con'ibination, in` a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tank having one or more compartments each with a solvent distributer above the same, a pair of traveling aprons between which the wool is held and carried through streams of solvent containing a less and less percentage of grease flowing from the distributers to the compart ments, a pipe for continuously discharging pure solvent onto and throu h the mass of wool after its passage throug said streams, and means for automatically feeding the successively purerbodies of solvent in a direction opposite tothe movement of wool.

6. rlhe combination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of means for continuously conveying wool forward first through flowing streams of solvent having a less and less percentage of grease, and then through flowing streams from independent bodies of wash water, means for automatically feeding such successively purer solvent in the opposite direction, and means for heating said successive bodies of wash water until a tem eraturc sufficiently high to volatilize .the so vent is reached.

7. `The combination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of means for continuously carrying the wool through successive bodies of solvent, and then through successive bodies of wash water, and means for independently heating said bodies of wash water.

8. The combination, in a Wool treating apparatus, of a p air of traveling aprons between which the wool is held and continuously carried forward throlligh flowing streams of solvent and then through flowing streams of wash water, means for squeezing the wool after it is passed through the streams of solvent and be ore .it reaches the streams of wash Water, and means for heating said successive bodies of wash water until a temperature sufficiently high to volatilize the solvent is reached.

9. The combination, in a wool degreasing a paratus, of means for continuously passing t e woolthrough successive bodies of solvent and then through independent bodies of washwater, means for squeezing the wool after it has passed the solvent and before it reaches the wash water, and means for inde-' pendently heating the bodies of wash water.

g 10. The combination, in-a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tank or casing containing a series of compartments, some for containing solvent and others for containing'wash water of varying degrees of temperature, movable distributers above said compartments for delivering the solvent and wash water in flowing streams to their corresponding compartments, means for delivering said solvent and wash water to the respective distributers, and a pair of traveling a rons between which wool is compacted and ed first through the streams of solvent 'and thenl through the streams of wash water.

11. The combination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tank containing a series of compartments, some for containing solvent and others for containing wash water of varging degrees of temperature, movable distri uters above said compartments for delivering the solvent and wash water in flowing streams to their corresponding compartments, means for delivering said solvent and wash waterto the respective distributers, a pair of traveling aprons between which the wool is compacte and fed first through thc streams of solvent and`then throu h the streams of wash water, means for supp ying pure solvent to the wool after it has passed the flowing streams of solvent, and means for imparting pressure to the wool after it receives such purer solvent and before it reaches the flowing streams of wash water.

12. The combination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tank having a series of compartments for containing wash water, distributers'for the wash water located above said compartments and receiving their supplies from their respective compartments,

Ameans for carrying the wool ina compacted state through streams of water flowing from the distributers to their respective compartments, and means communicating directly with the wash water compartments for heating the water contained therein.

13. The combination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tank having a series of compartments for receiving Wash water, ldistributers for wash water located above the said compartments and receiving their supplies from their respective compartments, means for carrying the wool through streams of water flowing from the distributers'to Atheir respective compartments; and means for independently heating the wash water in the successivecom artments.

14. The com ination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tan-k containing a series of compartments, some for containing solvent and others for containing wash water, distributers located above said compartments and receiving their su ply therefrom, means for conveying wool t rough the streams of solvent and wash water flowing from the distributers to their respective compartments, and means for independently heating, the Wash water in successive compartments.

15. The combination, in a wool degreasing apparatus, of a tank containing a series of compartments, some for containing solvent and others for containing wash water, distributers located above said compartments and each receiving its supply from its resective compartment, means for conveying t e wool through the streams of solvent or Wash Water flowing from the distributers to their respectivel compartments, vmeans for importing pressure to the Wool While it is passmg from the streams of solvent to the streams of Wash water, and'means for independently heating the Wash Water in successive compartments.

In' testimony whereof, we have signed our 10 names to this specification; in the presence of `two. subscrlbmg witnesses.

' FRANK SHUMAN. i CONSTANTINE SHUMAN.

Witnesses: x

ALAN CRAIG CUNNINGHAM, THos. MACKELLAR. 

